Creighton University
22-9, 8-4
Southern Illinois
18-21, 2-10
Castagnini, Gerber & Makovicka Lead Jays to Sweep of SIU, 9-1
4/21/2013 5:57:00 PM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - Creighton Baseball got two RBI from Federico Castagnini, Mike Gerber and Jordan Makovicka to claim a 9-1 win over Southern Illinois on April 21.
The Bluejays recorded its third three-game sweep of 2013 (second in MVC play) to move to 22-9 overall and 8-4 in the MVC. Southern Illinois fell to 18-21 on the season and 2-10 in conference.
Creighton jumped out on SIU in the opening inning, scoring four runs on four hits and two walks. Junior Brad McKewon opened the frame by smoking a double down the left field line. Castagnini sent McKewon to third with a sacrifice. Junior Jake Peter and Gerber followed with back-to-back doubles to give the Jays a 2-0 edge. Freshman Reagan Fowler's slow grounder to second was thrown home, but Gerber beat the play easily, pushing Creighton's lead to 3-0. Sophomore Kevin Lamb singled sharply up the middle, then one out later Ryan Fitzgerald and Makovicka drew consecutive walks to force home Fowler and give the Jays a 4-0 advantage.
Southern Illinois got a run in the fourth, but freshman Nick Highberger came on to escape a bases loaded, one-out jam without further damage. Highberger went on to toss a career-high 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, earning his first win (1-0).
Behind Highberger, the Bluejay offense added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, while Castagnini's two-run single capped the scoring in the seventh.
Peter finished the day 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two triples, becoming the first Jay since 2006 to record two triples in a game (John Nowaczyk - April 8, 2006)
Southern Illinois' starter Sam Coonrod suffered the loss (3-3), allowing four runs on six hits in 1.2 innings.
Creighton returns to the diamond on Tuesday, April 23 as the Jays face the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa at 6:05 p.m. John Bishop and Dave Gustafson have the call on 1620 the Zone.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Highberger, Nick (1-0)
L: Coonrod, Sam (3-3)
Batting:
RBI: Rosthenhausler, Ryan 1
SH: Troggio, Rennie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Daily, Cody 1
SB: Welch, Jake 1
HBP: Johnson, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: McKewon, Brad 1 ; Makovicka, Jordan 1
3B: Peter, Jake 2 ; Gerber, Mike 1
RBI: Castagnini, Federico 2 ; Gerber, Mike 2 ; Fowler, Reagan 1 ; Makovicka, Jordan 2
SH: Castagnini, Federico 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McKewon, Brad 2 ; Peter, Jake 3 ; Gerber, Mike 1 ; Fowler, Reagan 1 ; Fitzgerald, Ryan 1 ; Makovicka, Jordan 1
SB: Peter, Jake 1
